Just need to talk to my friends (210)

I hope that those of you who aren't feeling well today mend quickly. Iris, I'm with Carl, I don't think this is long covid, but just the normal recovery time.

Carl - I'm jealous - our Walgreens doesn't have a skeleton. Good call on the PT though.

HB - You mean remote cam check-in is becoming a thing??? When I go in on Friday, I'm going to complain to my doctor. It'll probably go nowhere, but I'm going to complain anyway.

As for covid vaccines, I'm going to stock up on masks. Vogmask has the Candide masks back in stock (the ones I always wore to memory care), but to be honest, I'm not sure I can wear those anymore. Still too close in time.

Off to Estes Park, Colorado this morning! I'm excited!

Lorita sounds like you may be feeling better today. Hope everyone that was feelingpuny is better too.

Beth, hope you have a safe, peaceful trip.

It’s a beautiful day again. I’m thankful for this beautiful day. Maybe we’ll have a nice fall

Lorita …OU will play Texas in their annual game Oct. 11. at the Texas state fairgrounds. It is a really big deal weekend with lots of people going from OK as usual. If neither nor the dogs hear the driveway alarm then it is time for a big bell outside. I have a ships bell instead of a door bell.

Well, it happened just as predicted…the ants are back. Do I start over ????

My family in NYC for the wedding are going to the Yankee game tonight. Wish I could see it on TV here. Trump is going so it will be a people jam for certain. I hope they take the subway.

Jealous of all of you with good weather. 🙂 Overcast here and there's a chill in the air.

Lorita - I had a difficult time giving away my parents' clothes, and I still haven't given away all of Peggy's clothes. It's not the same as a spouse, but it's related.

Beth - I've only been to Estes Park once, but I loved it. I hope you have a wonderful time!!

The 9/11 anniversary is what's on my mind today. I know exactly what I was doing back then. I had spent the week at a privacy conference (government surveillance + consumer privacy) in Anchorage. We had all been invited by the Lt. Gov. there. We all did double and triple duty on the various panels, and I'll admit really enjoying debating the DOJ attorney on wiretapping. The conference organizers arranged some weekend excursions for us that were really fun - there was a boat trip that ended up with salmon and corn feed (yum). We saw eagles and puffins. My s.o. flew up to meet me for the weekend. We enjoyed it so much we contemplated staying a couple of extra days. In the end we decided to fly back late Monday night as planned - and a good thing we did otherwise we'd have been stuck in Alaska until the planes started flying again. In hind site, an ironic time for a conference on privacy law.

Here's a pic from way back then - we were on one of the weekend excursions. I'm the one with the long hair, and my DOJ debate mate is the guy sitting to my left. My colleague Sarah is in the red turtleneck. She and I were the two non-profit folks there, the rest of them were from various governmental agencies.

I have been donating some of Kathy's things and it makes me sad. Her sister offered to go through the closets and take all of it, as she did for her father when her mother died, but I'm doing it myself. I think grief is a journey, and you can't really skip the steps.

I haven't accomplished anything today, beyond buying a pair of sweats to wear to PT. I went to lunch and pistol shooting with two of my friends and frittered the afternoon away. Two women separately approached and greeted me while we were waiting in the senior center cafeteria line. My male friends were looking at each other and grinning after the second woman came by, and Gary asked me if this was a speed dating place. Sean and Gary are 60-something and married and don't know how easy it is to befriend women as a single man in his late 70's who enjoys conversation. It's kind of like the old Alan Jackson song "Some girls don't like boys like me; ah, but some girls do." I don't want a girlfriend or a housekeeper, so we can let our guards down and be ourselves.

Hot and dry here and has been for months. The trees are changing color and shedding leaves, but it isn't pretty. The leaves are just turning yellow and brown and dropping. The Ozarks are beautiful in autumn in good years, but this hasn't been a good year.

The Springfield Cardinal minor league team is playing on one channel tonight, and the KC Royals are playing on another channel. I may record one and watch the other.

I am fortunate to have some framed needlepoint, crewel, and decoupage items that Kathy made over the years. I can keep them as remembrances of her and the clothing can go to someone who will wear it. So far, I have donated a bushel of purses, the fall jackets and winter coats, and three pairs of eyeglasses. Maybe next I'll load up the 2-3 dozen pairs of shoes and boots. There's no rush.

GG and Carl, you are probably right, this isn’t long Covid but just a slow recuperation. I feel like I need some coffee. I never was one to need coffee in the morning, like other people. But if I drink coffee midday, then I won't sleep at night.

GG, when I went to Urgent Care, the check-in was on my phone. That's new.

I could not find Candide or N95 masks locally. I'll probably have to order those masks. I do have some N95 masks that I got from CVS last year, but I can't put my hands on them now.

I had two cousins who worked in or near the World Trade Centers. One cousin was sick that day and did not go in, the other cousin worked on the 30th floor and was able to escape before the towers collapsed. She died two years later from cancer, don't know if it was related to the toxic air.

Beth, I hope you enjoy Estes Park. Will you be RVing or staying at a lodge? Will the trees be turning colors?

Lorita, did you put up the blackberry jam yourself?

I still have one box of my mother's things since 1992. I really don't even know what's in the box.

Darwin should wear a whistle around his neck and carry an air horn in his pocket. (Autocorrect changed air horn to sirloin LOL). Then he could signal when he gets in trouble.

I had brunch with one of my friends from the trip. She had brought me some souvenirs because she knows what I like. She brought me a couple of historical books, because I am always buying books on my trips. She also got me a thoroughbred racing horse refrigerator magnet, an oven potholder with cats on it and several brochures from the places that they visited. So I feel like I didn't miss out on too much! I have such nice friends!

I'm mad at myself. I totally forgot that today was the day for the Hearing Loss Support Group. A well known audiologist was the speaker, to talk about hearing aids. I really needed that talk! But I totally forgot, even though I had it written on my to-do list. I have to figure out how to set a reminder on my phone's calendar. I'll add that project to my main to-do list.

The evenings are getting cooler. I don't like to sit outside now, it's too chilly. See you tomorrow.

Iris

Good morning. We have a gorgeous late summer day on tap today.

Iris— How sweet of your friend to bring you home some souvenirs from KY.

Carl— I think it would be nice if you were able to balance your roster of greybeards with a few women friends. It's just a different perspective and approach.

Beth— I hope you enjoy your trip.

Mint— I hope your streak of nice weather continues.

Judith— I hope family made it to the game last night without too much hassle. Will the wedding be live streamed?

Tigersmom— The bike charity is brilliant. What a fitting place for your DH's bike to land.

Jerilynn— Congratulations on your new washer. Leave it to your DH to DIY an appliance delivery.

What are you doing with all the stuff from the AL? Have family members taken what they wanted yet? Are you getting close to donating it or selling on eBay?

Lorita— I'm sure you worry about Darwin. I don't even know him and worry about the consequences of his choices and how they could impact him, Donna and even you. I appreciate the roots of the hard a.s.s farmer trope, but this seems like questionable executive function. Is he ok?

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The cleaning out and distribution/donation of personal effects can be hard. I've not had to process it for a beloved spouse, but my aunt's compound, my sister's apartment and watching mom deal with dad's stuff is hard.

My aunt was still alive when we tackled her place which lent an air of violation to the process however necessary it was. She was a beloved and well-respected individual, but as we unpacked the sheer craziness we saw, it became an Irish wake. Hers was the house with a 12" closet packed floor to ceiling with grocery bags filled with NYT crossword puzzles, the hollowed-out textbook that hid a pistol and $1000 in cash mixed in a hamper full of nothing but dirty socks.

My sister's place was chaos. As she was dying, "friends" used the place as a shooting gallery, one old flame even trashed the place in anger. It was heartbreaking. She collected pigs before she became sick. I packed a few which I later passed onto her daughters. My mom took out her nice dishes and such, but it turns out they were triggering for the girls who wanted no part of them.

It's interesting, mom was pretty proactive at donating dad's clothing with the exception of his ties, cashmere sweaters and rude/souvenir tee shirts. She sometimes wears them herself which I suspect brings her comfort. LOL, my niece texted me a few months ago to ask me if I knew mom had used one of the ties to belt off a shirtdress. <insert eye roll> Niece told me it looked really stupid. I asked if it was the plaid wool one. Niece said "yes, how did I know?" I told her it was the one he wore when they got married. She's also holding onto his golf clubs for some reason thought she did give my uncle his dad's driver and my niece DH a few of the antique clubs.

It's been a freakishly quiet week here. I caught up on some cleaning, saw my eye doctor and upgraded my laptop to Windows 11. Next week looks pretty calm as well. Off to grab a shower— the appliance tech could be here in an hour.

Have a pleasant day.
HB

good afternoon

everyone’s doing OK Lorita. I am done preserving. Just a bad gardening as several have mentioned. The garage door is nice.

Noticed a few leaves starting to turn here to Beth. Glad you made your trip safe safely

HB, belting a dress with a necktie was very trendy one season when your mom and I were young. She may have all the Boomer ladies doing it again, leading by example.

I am glad to have some female friends. I have always liked women, at least until they give me a reason not to. Some nitwit on YouTube was saying women have no sense of humor and can't be funny. I don't respond to stuff like that, but I thought "Lucille Ball, Rita Rudner, Jeanne Robertson, Ellen Degeneres, the entire cast of Golden Girls . . ."

Cool and cloudy in Estes Park today. We accessed Trail Ridge Road and went up to the Alpine Center - the elevation there is just under 12,000 feet above sea level. If you keep going on Trail Ridge Road, you cross the continental divide and end up in Grand Lake. We didn't do that, but have in the past. We saw a coyote and 4 mule deer. No elk. I guess they are at the lower elevations, i.e., in town on the golf course!

Some pics.

Some of the aspens are turning color.

Many, many pines have been killed by the Rocky Mountain pine beetle infestation.

Out the window of the Trail Ridge Road visitor center - next photo is of the alpine area - nothing much will grow there